Kellyanne Suggests White House Needs Roy Moore Even If He’s A Perv (VIDEOS/TWEETS)

By
Darrell Lucus
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Late last week, the White House finally decided to weigh in on the allegations that Roy Moore, the Republican candidate in the special election for Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat in Alabama. Well, sort of. It parroted a line crafted by Steve Bannon–this was solely a matter for the people of Alabama.

But on Monday morning, the line from the Donald Trump administration seemingly took a radical, and potentially sickening, turn. White House counselor and information minister Kellyanne Conway appeared to suggest that Moore’s presence in the Senate was a must in order to pass tax reform.

The White House sent out Conway to talk up its push to get a tax reform bill passed after Christmas, and sent her before a friendly audience–“Fox & Friends.” Watch here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kdX0xIm0Ss

Conway upbraided the Democrats for their coolness to the tax bill–while forgetting that two members of her own party, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson and Maine’s Susan Collins, aren’t willing to support the current Senate version of the reform package. She believed that there could be hell to pay for the Democrats if they don’t come on board–especially the five who represent states Trump won by double digits last year.

Then, with no prompting at all, Conway took a swipe at the Democratic candidate in the Alabama race, Doug Jones.

“Doug Jones in Alabama, folks, don’t be fooled. He will be a vote against tax cuts. He is weak on crime. Weak on borders. He is strong on raising your taxes. He is terrible for property owners.”

That dig prompted co-host Brian Killmeade to ask the obvious question–did that mean Alabamians should vote for Moore? Conway’s response was simply breathtaking.

“I’m telling you that we want the votes in the Senate to get this tax bill through. And the media–if the media were really concerned about all of these allegations, and if that’s what this is truly about, and the Democrats–Al Franken would be on the ash heap of bygone half-funny comedians.”

Wow. Unless I heard wrong, Conway was delivering a subtle message to the people of Alabama–if you want tax reform, you’d better vote for Moore next month.


So what if Moore had a bad habit of chasing after girls young enough to be his daughters? Or that, as of Monday, nine women have come forward to say he molested them? Or that his defense, with few exceptions, has mostly been some variation of “(noun) (verb) FAKE NEWS!” No, no–that really doesn’t matter as much as overhauling the tax code.

This sounds eerily familiar. Remember, last fall, when the “Access Hollywood” tapes surfaced, the religious right didn’t bail on Trump because as far as they were concerned, potentially having a president who reveled in degrading women didn’t matter. What really mattered to the nation’s so-called moral guardians was that this country had a future–one without abortion or marriage equality.

What makes it even more eerie is that just four days ago, Conway herself was singing a different tune. While talking with the gang on the curvy couch, Conway was asked about Moore. Watch here.

Conway reiterated what White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said the previous Sunday–“there is no Senate seat worth more than a child.” Well, apparently there’s an exception–tax reform.

In the last few days, this situation has taken on an air similar to the Bill Cosby scandal. Too many women have come forward telling identical stories about nearly identical incidents taking place years apart–too many to be credibly dismissed. Couple that with Moore not really offering a defense beyond screaming “FAKE NEWS!”, and it should come as no surprise that Conway has been sliced, diced, and julienned for this.

At Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary and Princess of Lies Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared to revert to the previous line–this was just an Alabama matter. Watch here.

Wait a minute. This morning, Conway says the White House needs Roy Moore to get tax reform passed. This afternoon, Sanders says that this is just an Alabama matter. Which is it? Fox News’ Shepard Smith certainly thought it was the former. Watch here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhBcE-Xl5pY

Smith went to air just after the press briefing, and contrasted Sanders’ line that the White House wanted “Alabamians to do what Alabamians want to do” with Conway’s statement that the White House needed the votes for tax reform. “Dog whistles don’t make noises,” he quipped.


Trump has been reluctant to speak publicly on Moore–reportedly on Conway and Bannon’s advice. But he had plenty to say about Franken.

Well, Mr. Trump, with this statement from Conway, you have lost any moral authority to say anything about Franken–and about nearly any other subject, for that matter. If you consider tax reform so important that we need to have a man in the Senate whom mounting evidence suggests is a depraved and debauched jerk, then you, sir, may resign your post.

(featured image courtesy James McNellis, available under a Creative Commons-BY license)

Darrell Lucus
Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.

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